Aug 192013
 
Suspect in US diver’s killing urged to yield

By Niña P. CallejaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 9:55 am | Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 Suspect Ericson Mendoza Blacquio MANILA, Philippines—A group of homeowners at the exclusive Hamilton Heights subdivision in Las Piñas City, where an American diver and businessman was killed on Thursday night, has appealed to the suspect, security guard Ericson Mendoza Blacquio, to give himself up to authorities. “We texted him and promised to help him as long as he would face the charges in court. We don’t want to be misunderstood. We condemn what he did but we are convincing him to turn himself in,” Arlene Marie Rodriquez-San Juan, the group’s representative, told the Inquirer Sunday. The killing of Matthew Caldwell, 59, a technical diver who helped search for Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo when his plane fell into the sea off Masbate province last year, shocked residents of Hamilton Heights, an upper middle class subdivision at Barangay (village) Talon V in Las Piñas City. “We know the suspect as a quiet, kind and patient man. But what he did to an unarmed man was completely wrong,” San Juan said. An argument between Blacquio and Caldwell over a subdivision policy turned sour when Blacquio lost his temper and shot dead the American national, police probers said. The disagreement stemmed from an order given by officers of the homeowners’ association that residents who had not paid their monthly contributions would have to lift the boom at the gate of the subdivision themselves, instead of the security guard on duty. The Read More …

Mar 072013
 
President Aquino cites role of telecommunications in facilitating free flow of information

President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his message during the Meeting with local leaders and the community at the Rizal Park in San Pedro Street, Davao City on Wednesday (March 06, 2013). In photos are Team PNoy candidates that include Aurora Lone District Representative Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, former National Youth Commission (NYC) chairperson Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, former Akbayan Partylist Representative Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros-Baraquel, Senators Alan Peter “Compañero” Cayetano and Francis Joseph “Chiz” Escudero, former Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chairperson Mary Grace Poe-Llamanzares, Senator Loren Legarda, former Senators Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal and Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., Senators Aquilino Martin “Koko” Pimentel III and Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV, and former Las Piñas Representative Cynthia Villar. (MNS photo) MANILA, Mar 7 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno S. Aquino III cited the role of the telecommunications sector in facilitating the free flow of information to our countrymen. “Knowledge empowers our people and sustains the momentum of our nation’s ongoing revitalization. As part of the telecommunications sector, you act as conduits that facilitate the free flow of information to our countrymen,” the Chief Executive said in his message to the Federation of International Cable TV and Telecommunications Association of the Philippines (FICTAP) on Thursday. The FICTAP opened its 14th International Cable Congress and Exhibit on Thursday at the Manila Hotel. The event would end on Friday. “It is necessary that we remain attentive to the advances in technology in your industry, that we may keep our countrymen informed Read More …